The Black Cat Issue 1
by Travis Anderson
Summary: While dealing with the death of her mother, Felicia Hardy discovers a new client and an old pain.


The Black Cat - Issue 1  
  
Someone Who Cares  
  
Felicia Hardy shuffled through the papers on her desk, looking for something. Anything. Any thought to occupy her mind would be fine right now. She just didn't want to be thinking about what she'd been thinking of all day. She'd cried for hours last night, and she didn't have a lot of tears left to spare. She had loved her mother like no other. To see her gone was beyond heartbreaking; it was catastrophic. Her mother had been the only person who ever understood her. She was the one person Felicia could go to for her problems, pain, and suffering. Her mother would always love her, regardless of any mistakes or bad choices she might make. Her mother didn't choose sides or betray her. She had loved her. And Felicia seemed to care about her more than ever now that she was gone. It was funny how things turned out that way.  
  
She loved her so much; yet she didn't want to think about her. What kind of crazed reasoning was that? Felicia had once thought life was about logic and order, but she now knew otherwise. Life wasn't logical, it wasn't simple, and it certainly wasn't fair. The truth was, life didn't care. Life goes on, always. No one is essential to life, therefore, no one matters. That was the only real logic behind life. Anything else was nothing but boasts and bullshit.  
  
Her mother had just passed away a few nights ago. She'd checked herself into a hospital after complaining of constant heart pains. When she called Felicia to tell her what was happening, Felicia knew what she was getting at. Her time had come, both Felicia and her mother knew. She had flown to Montana to spend her mother's last few days with her. She was definitely glad she had gone and seen her, though to say it wasn't as painful as it was emotional was a lie. She hadn't expected her mother to die in her arms. She had thought she'd get the call, or she'd come to see her and she'd be gone, but things just didn't happen that way. Felicia looked her in the eyes as she died, but she didn't cry. She didn't shed a tear till she'd gotten home. She didn't understand why.  
  
Felicia could've seen her more. Her mother was incredibly supportive of her; she had always done anything she could to help Felicia in any way possible. For all the times that she'd been there for Felicia, Felicia was never there for her. She took a deep breath and realized that before last week she hadn't seen her mother in four years. She winced; the truth hurt. Her mother had called her nearly every week; just to say hi, and to make sure everything was going well in her life. And how many times had Felicia called her? Maybe once or twice a year? Birthday and Christmas? She sighed as she exhaled. She looked at the floor for a moment of complete silence, and then the tears poured out.  
  
She wasn't sure how long she'd been crying for, but it felt like hours. Every tear that dripped down her cheek burned with a passionate sting. Was she sad that she lost her mother, that she wasn't there for her enough, or was she crying out of the pure pity she felt for herself? She didn't know, but she kept crying. The tears continued to flood out, screaming the death of a forgotten innocence. She had never felt so lost in her life. Nor so alone.  
  
It was then that the door, which had been opened by no one other than herself for weeks, opened loudly as someone came through. He made sure to present himself clearly as he stepped forward. The dark tint of the room glowed with light as he walked in. She picked her head up from her arm on the desk and stared hopefully at the man. When he reached her desk he sat down on the chair across from her.  
  
"Hi..." He said, noticing her watering eyes.  
  
She grabbed a Kleenex from the corner of her desk and quickly wiped her eyes. After drying her eyes she put her head up to look at the man.  
  
-Wow-.  
  
"Is there something I can..." As she looked at him she became distracted by his beautiful face and piercing eyes. "...help you with?"  
  
"Well, first, are you ok?" He responded, raising his eyebrows a bit.  
  
"Me?" She said, her eyes still locked in his. "Yeah, I'm fine."  
  
"Ok," He said nodding. "Well, I'm pleased to meet you, Ms. Hardy. My name's Todd Straiver. I've heard nothing but praise of your work."  
  
She laughed. "Well, that's good. Pleased to meet you, Todd."  
  
"Likewise," Todd said. He stopped for an instant and then continued. "Let me just get right to it. You see, there's something that's been bothering me a lot lately,"  
  
-Tell me about it-.  
  
"The police seemed to take no interest, so I'm hoping you'll be more helpful. My fiancée was murdered a few months ago by a man who just..." He put his head down and ran his hands down his face for a moment. "Came out of a car and," He paused uneasily. "He just pulled a gun out and shot her."  
  
She studied his face. She could tell he had really cared about her. At that point she began to feel quite sorry for him, as if the bullet that killed his fiancée was meant for her.  
  
"It was just so random," Todd continued, shaking his head in disbelief. "I couldn't believe someone could just kill someone like that for no reason."  
  
"Well, if it's any consultation, that sort of thing does happen in this field. It's tragic, but, it...can and does happen," She wondered if she had said the right thing. "I'm sorry to be so frank, but I don't know what else to tell you."  
  
He shook his head, "No, no, I understand that. But the thing is, I think there might've been more to her death than just bad luck."  
  
The expression on her face changed a bit. -Of course,- she thought, -he came here for an investigation not for sympathy.-  
  
"Well, naturally, if you've come to me?" She tried to make her words gentle yet intelligent, but she was afraid she just came off as a smart-ass.  
  
He laughed a bit. "Right."  
  
She returned a small giggle, but she couldn't 't get her eyes off this guy. Todd was getting to her. His beautiful black hair accompanied his fair skin perfectly. And his eyes; bright, green, and glowing, were God's most beloved angels. She could stare at them all day.  
  
"Her name was Julia Bennet, and she did network security for a large corporation. She was young, but she was one of the best in her field. Everyone knew it. Anyway, I was going through her old office the other day, and I found some interesting documents."  
  
He put his briefcase on the desk and opened it. He pulled out a large stack of papers and began roaming through them, looking for a few specific sheets. After a few seconds of searching he found the documents.  
  
He handed them to her as he spoke. "These documents don't correspond with anything she'd been working on at the time of her death. Nothing before that, either. These seem to have nothing to do with anything, yet they were on her desk the night she died. They were important, Ms. Hardy."  
  
"Please, call me Felicia." She said as she looked through and studied the papers. She saw Todd nod his head. She wanted to seem professional, but she also wanted to be casual and approachable. Not just for business sake, but she really did feel interested in Todd. Suddenly, her jaw dropped as she read a name written on one of the sheets.  
  
"Django?" She said, startled.  
  
"Dan Django. The real name of a crime lord - "  
  
"Fancy Dan," Felicia said. "And I wouldn't call him a crime lord. Not yet."  
  
"I see. So you know of him?"  
  
"Oh yes. He's a damn powerful guy nowadays."  
  
Dan Django, or Fancy Dan as he had come to be called, had gone a long way in the past few years. He had started as nothing more than a teenage crook, stealing candy from corner stores and mud-pies from markets. Though as he got older his targets got bigger and more expensive. He eventually got to know the right people and worked his way up to become a member of the Big Man's Enforcers. As noteworthy and dangerous as they were, the Enforcers turned out to be a failure. They were without a doubt very powerful criminals, though in the end, Spider-Man and his friends always found a way to defeat or outsmart them.  
  
"I'm sure he is. Elusive as well. That's why I need your help."  
  
He paused for a moment, as if to reconsider something. She looked at him curiously, but then he proceeded.  
  
"I suspected Fancy Dan was responsible for my fiancée's murder when I found those documents,"  
  
Felicia interrupted, "I'm quite sure of it. I'm actually fairly familiar with the companies Dan is involved with, and I can match more than a few of the ones listed on these papers to him. My guess would be - "  
  
"A computer transaction didn't go down the way Dan had hoped for?"  
  
She nodded. "It does happen."  
  
He put his head down and nodded. He looked as though he felt extremely relieved to finally know the truth. "I need you to help me find him. I can't come to the police with this. I can't let them know my wife had any affiliations with Fancy Dan. But I want Dan brought down. People that dangerous need to be brought to justice."  
  
"I'll be glad to help you." Felicia said, truly meaning it.  
  
"And...the money?" Todd asked.  
  
"Don't worry about that until were done. We'll discuss it then." She felt she had to be kind to him, but she was also too stressed to talk about money right now.  
  
"Thanks. Thanks a lot. Now, we have a liaison. The man who killed my fiancée went by the name Dex, and if we can find him he can lead us - "  
  
"Oh my God..."  
  
"You...know him?"  
  
Felicia's head was down, as if in shame.  
  
"Yes. I know him."  
  
-God Damn it's a small world.-  
  
"We'll...We'll talk about it later."  
  
Todd nodded. "Of course."  
  
"I will find Dex. He can lead to me Fancy Dan,"  
  
"Perfect." Todd said. He stopped himself, as though he said the wrong thing.  
  
Felicia glanced at him.  
  
"Sorry, go on." He said.  
  
"I will find out where Fancy Dan is for you. You can bring him down, if that's what you want."  
  
"It is."  
  
"Then you'll have him." Felicia said assuringly.  
  
Todd got up out of his seat. "I must go now. Thank you so much for your time."  
  
"Don't mention it," Felicia said with meaning. "I know what it's like to lose someone you love."  
  
Todd looked her in the eyes and spoke sincerely. "It's hard."  
  
Felicia nodded as their eyes met. "Sometimes all you need is help."  
  
For a moment it was as though they were at their wedding, vowing their lives to each other.  
  
"Or someone who cares." Todd added.  
  
They smiled at each other.  
  
"See ya, Felicia. Best of luck." Todd said as he walked out of the room.  
  
And then he was gone.  
  
Felicia sat back in her chair and considered what had just happened. She had just met a total stranger, agreed to find his fiancée's killer, and told him not to worry about the money till after she found Fancy Dan for him. -Damn I must really like him,- she thought to herself. But the happy thoughts of Todd soon withered away. Now she had a whole new concern. Dex.  
  
She wondered how Dex had gotten involved with Fancy Dan, and especially how he got mixed up in this whole mess with Todd. Why would Dex kill anyone? Morlun was dead, and without Morlun Dex was harmless. She couldn't figure it out. He must've been lost, with no path to turn to but crime. Felicia wouldn't have been surprised if Morlun had grinded Dex's mind down to a pebble. Morlun had taken complete control over Dex ever since that one fateful day, years ago. Felicia still couldn't help but feel responsible. She had never gotten over it. It was yet another addition to the list of past events that haunted her. -And boy was it a small world.-  
  
Dexter Clark and Felicia Hardy had been going out for weeks prior to the day he was taken. They'd met at the Daily Grind an early Monday morning. The two hit it off instantly, but Felicia recognized his enormous ego early on. He was always too bold, too interested in himself and his pride. Dex was constantly on the look out for a way to prove his bravery to whomever he could. Felicia knew that what he did that day wasn't too surprising at all, though that day still haunted her conscious.  
  
A crazy man named Morlun had been all but stalking Felicia for days. He spoke of what must've been a strange ancient religion, one based on animals, Totem poles, and divine secrets of life and nature. He claimed that she was the "real deal", a human empowered by the soul and energy of the Cat. She would share all the mystical gifts life had given the Cat, and she would embody those powers. Felicia never bothered to try and understand the nonsense, but she knew that Morlun was dangerous. She simply tried to ignore him whenever possible.  
  
Though one day Morlun came to Felicia's home, and he meant business. Dex, who had been living with Felicia, immediately went outside to confront him. After an intense verbal war, Dex pulled out his gun. When he attempted to shoot Morlun, Morlun threw him across the yard as if he was nothing. Morlun then grabbed Dex from the ground and began to perform a horrific ritual of some kind, making Dex powerless to defend himself. Dex's eyes bulged out of his face and turned bright white as Morlun surged intense energy throughout Dex's body. Morlun then took a deep breath, focused his mind on Dex, and absorbed all of Dex's energy and soul into his own body. Felicia watched in terror as Dex's life was drained from him. She could do nothing to help him as Morlun had created an indestructible field of energy surrounding Dex and himself. When she could fathom no other options, she ran. She ran down the street, the block, and then the city. She had gone to a friend's to the stay the night, and to try her best to block out what had just happened. She had abandoned Dex. Perhaps if she had stayed she could've found a way to save him, but she didn't want to think about it. She never did.  
  
But she knew one thing. She'd never make that mistake again. She wasn't about to abandon Todd.  
  
Elsewhere in the city, far from Felicia Hardy's office, a man stood at a payphone. It was quite late at night, and not a single person roamed the streets for blocks. That is, no one except the lonely figure who spoke softly and sly to the strong voice on the other line.  
  
"I'm pleased to report that Ms. Hardy has a new client." The man said.  
  
"That's excellent." The voice on the other line replied.  
  
"Soon, he will be no more. And I trust you know whom I refer to." The man continued.  
  
"Indeed."  
  
"I must go now. We'll talk later."  
  
He placed the phone back in the booth and quickly walked away. 


End file.
